Klein, who spoke about the ubiquity of AI and machine learning at the AWS Summit in Sydney, says Amazon has been investing in machine learning for the past 20 years, using the technology in providing customer recommendations on its website, in Kindle, and in delivering packages using drones.

The new bot philosophy

Tye Brady, chief technologist of Amazon Robotics, says in the age of machine learning, “collaborative robotics is everything.”

He says humans have “amazing” capabilities such as being good at problem solving, abstraction, generalisation and creative thinking. Robots are good at crunching numbers, lifting heavy objects, moving with precisions and performing repetitive tasks.

If you can bring them together, “you gain a higher perspective.”

He says this is what happens at the fulfillment centres of Amazon. The inventory is held on pods, where the shelves are moved by robots. The operations pick products for orders, stow inventory to pods and take charge of inventory control.

First is “customer obsession”. When you are customer obsessed, you start with the customer and work backwards, says Brady. The whole point of the use of robotic technology in the fulfillment centres is to delight the customer, he says.

Second, he says, is to “think big”. When you do this, you create and communicate a bold direction that delivers and inspires results. “Not only are we pioneers in robotics, we are helping shape what can be in robotics.”

When you are customer obsessed, you start with the customer and work backwards

He says robotics systems have helped them produce their own delivery system, increase overall selection they offer to customers, and shorten delivery time that can take more than a day to less than an hour.

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